Ingredients

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until well browned on all sides. Remove the pork from the skillet.

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 15 minutes or until well browned, stirring often.

Stir the picante sauce, marmalade and orange zest in the skillet. Return the pork to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.

It’s about 196 calories and would go great with a side of fresh green beans. Feel free to visit Allrecipes to learn complete nutrition information.

A few variations: He used yellow onions which are a little sweeter. I also think you could use fresh squeezed oranges with a dash of sugar to replace the marmalade. I also doubt he used 2 tablespoons of oil. I think it would be a great pairing with chicken instead of pork, as well.

Today I ran across another analogy that really fits how you should perceive life and motivate yourself.

A more common one that I relate to is in this context:

You always hear people talk about how they didn’t get “dealt” the perfect set of cards or that there is nothing you can do about a certain hardship. Of course, sometimes it is true but in more instances than none it really isn’t the case. It’s more a case of not wanting the item in front of them bad enough to go get it.

As you may find out, I, too, wasn’t dealt the perfect hand of cards. I mean I’ve been through some pretty tough times and even times that have been out of my hands. But it’s how I’ve played my cards that lead me to where I am today. Of course, I had a few crumby cards that it didn’t matter what I did with them. It happens! In the end, you have two options in life, 1. let the cards play you or 2. you play the cards.

With that said, your food for thought came from my fortune cookie. Okay, I know, that shows that I wasn’t great today, yes I had chinese food.

You create your own stage. The audience is waiting.

I just really feel this is another great way to view your life. So stop peeking at someone else’s stage and comparing it to what yours isn’t. Instead CREATE your own stage. The audience IS waiting!

Christmas is over and I know I’ve been really slacking on the blog posts! So now it’s time to whip myself into “blogger shape”.

This leads me to the imfamous Christmas guilt. I stood in Zumba today and our instructor asked us if we were ready to work off that Christmas guilt. Everyone practically fell on the floor as they were embarassed about what they ate. Although, I didn’t have any sweet escapes over Christmas, we had a nice intimate Christmas with my immediate family. I, too, felt the Christmas guilt and the realization of how much slacking I’ve been doing.

Heck with the New Year resolutions, after all a good friend always said they are meant to be broken. What’s the point if I’m going to wait a week to get back into blogging, working out, eating right? With that said, lets get motivated and whoop 2012’s booty versus letting 2012 whoop us.

I’ve been slightly busy lately, and I promise to get back into the swing of things this next week! In the meantime, what do you think about energy drinks? Do you like them? I personally can say I’ve only had sips of them because there is something about them that I’m really skeptical about. I ran across an article from a Children’s Colorado blog, that explains why maybe you should be weary as well.

I wanted to make sure I noted this for others looking for the little achievements. As we all know the scale doesn’t always move like it’s meant to on certain weeks. Keep in mind the little things you do or the little things that others notice can also be achievements.

I’ve been frustrated this past few weeks because the scale is NOT moving. I mean really, I work my butt off, but no movement. Then this weekend happened. My husband and I were visiting our families and we were discussing something about the gym and it turned into a conversation about clothes. As you can tell, I really don’t remember much of the conversation. BUT I remember one part of the conversation where he said, “Ya probably, since you’ve been getting skinnier.”

1. You think I’d say what, you called me skinnier?

2. You’d think I’d say, Thanks.

Nope what came out of my mouth was, “Really, I haven’t lost a SINGLE pound in the past 3 weeks.” That’s when it happened…

The husband gave a blank stare and had to pick his mouth up off the floor. I wanted to say, “Hey, I think you dropped something”, but I refrained. He was so stunned that I really hadn’t lost a pound. His only response was, well you know they say muscle weighs more than fat. That’s all he had to say.

For me this was an achievement, I mean really, anytime you can get your significant other to notice you, that’s great, right?

So with that, remember those little achievements can be just as important as the big ones.

I was sitting here thinking today about Thanksgiving. As Thanksgiving has passed I’m a lot less bitter about Christmas decorations being up and visible.

Everyone always thinks the bitterness is because it’s my birthday during Thanksgiving season. Really though, areyou sure you’re getting the full meaning out of Thanksgiving if you are skipping straight to Christmas?

Of course, this could be argued either way, but I am hopeful of one thing. You recognized what you are thankful for during this holiday season.

So at the gym they are doing this punch card. You go to so many fitness classes and you have a chance to win a gift card. Win free stuff? Heck, I’m in! I’ve been doing it since the beginning of the month. My activity choice? ZUMBA! They just started classes this month, let’s just say its a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Well, realistically, even going to Zumba 4 days a week won’t allow me to achieve the punch card goal.

So one day I went to a stretch class because it was before I go to work. I think I was the only one under the age of 60, so I skipped that the next time. I should have known considering it’s during the work day.

Instead I added kick boxing into the weekly rotation. I am enjoying that although the instructor is scarily muscular. Finally, I needed another class to add into the mix to ensure I get my points, I decided a core class was a good option. I mean really 15 minutes, I’m at the gym already, PIECE OF CAKE! Ya, that’s not what my quivering arms, legs and abs told you. That class meant business. I enjoyed it though so I’ll be back.

Anyways, the punch card thing has been a motivator and quite fun. I’ve tried classes that I never thought I’d try. If your gym is offering any incentive programs, take them up on the offer. You’d be amazed at how motivated it might make you.

The dilemma of the week…what do I take to Thanksgiving. I finally found a few simple yet health(ier) recipes. The verdict is in and I’m going to take a side that includes squash and pear. Then I’m going to take chocolate strawberries(ya not as healthy but better than cake) and baked apples. I have a lunch and a dinner hence so many items!

I don’t know how many others are scared of Thanksgiving, but I have to admit…I kind of am! Why? Well, eating junky food has some mad affects on me. I’m sure you’ve experienced the Thanksgiving overload yourself at least once in your life. So all weekend, I’ve been researching what I can do to avoid the overload. I’m really trying to find my survival guide for the big weekend. So far, I’ve decided that working out before and after will be included in my Thanksgiving day options. I’m also going for recipes that are friendly for me. I’ll post back what I’m thinking but I’m still researching.